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Joshua Hitchcock
Joshua Hitchcock was a candidate for at-large representative on the Harrison School District Two school board in Colorado. Hitchcock was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Hitchcock participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
Three of the five seats on the Harrison School District Two Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. In his bid for re-election, incumbent Steven R. Seibert faced challengers Joshua Hitchcock, Jeannie Orozco, and Linda Pugh. Seibert won re-election, and Orozco and Pugh won new terms on the board.[1][2]
Results
| Harrison School District Two, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Linda Pugh |
30.52% | 3,579 |
| Jeannie Orozco |
25.42% | 2,981 |
| Steven R. Seibert Incumbent |
22.69% | 2,661 |
| Joshua Hitchcock | 21.36% | 2,505 |
| Total Votes | 11,726 | |
| Source: El Paso County Elections Office, "Official Results: HARRISON SCHOOL DISTRICT 2 DIRECTOR," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Funding
Hitchcock reported no contributions or expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State in the election.[3]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Joshua Hitchcock participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[4] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 19, 2017:
| “ | I am not doing this to be an individual so if that is what you are looking for then I am not the right fit. I believe if we advocate as a community and work to shape education effectively, then our future holds much more for us. I hope to provide a different perspective into issues, recommend solutions that may be unconventional (not the status quo because "that is how it has always been done"), and put in the time to be an effective team member. I realize that I may not be successful in all ventures, but I'm willing to put myself out there to give it a shot. In either case I accept the stress and responsibility of being there, of doing the hard right, and growing the most educated and productive kids that are our future.[5][6] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Colorado. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | We must first improve our foundation before an effective path to growth is possible.[6] | ” |
| —Joshua Hitchcock (October 19, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. We need to develop public (non-charter) schools to be more innovative and well rounded for the entire population versus creating new niche schools. If our goal is to maintain a standard in education then we must be consistent across the board in how we educate. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. I'm not sure there will ever be a completely foolproof way to accurately capture student achievement (depending on your definition of accurate) that accounts for the uniqueness of individuals, the environment, or just having a bad day. A standardized test will allow for some fidelity in establishing an achievement baseline, but future testing will only lend to proximate trending with no absolute accuracy. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. Our teachers should have a stable pay structure that lends to growing a quality and sustainable workforce. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. As a parent and tax payer I have a choice on whether or not my children attend public or private schools, and I know that up front. If I choose a niche educational path then I would expect to pay tuition because I have a different expectation or outcome in mind. The public school system extends to all socioeconomic areas, accommodates varying needs, and accounts for the largest population of tax payer attendance. If something is broken within our public schools then we need to focus on fixing the issues versus rerouting tax payer dollars to fill a gap. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| In extreme cases where it is warranted, and as a last resort. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. This question really has multiple answers. Success is a collaborative result of parent involvement, school administration, student-teacher ratio, curriculum and the teachers themselves. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Joshua Hitchcock Harrison School District Two school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Harrison School District Two," September 11, 2017
- ↑ El Paso County Elections Office, "Unofficial Results: HARRISON SCHOOL DISTRICT 2 DIRECTOR," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Joshua Hitchcock's responses," October 19, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Harrison School District Two elections in 2017 | |
| El Paso County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Steven R. Seibert • Joshua Hitchcock • Jeannie Orozco • Linda Pugh |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
